Michelle Connolly
CPA, CA, TEP, FEA, CFP®
Our Advanced Wealth Planning Group is independent, unconstrained, and entrepreneurial. The holistic wealth planning process at Wellington-Altus starts with clients’ needs or wants, not recommended investments. The process also ties in financial planning, tax recommendations, wealth transfer guidance and risk identification.
Most importantly, we don’t start off by telling you what to do. We engage and we ask questions because questions lead to insights. We want to get to know our clients. What keeps you awake at night? What are you looking forward to in five, 10 or 20 years?
Our recommendations begin with what matters most to our clients. We draft a plan identifying your wants or needs and provide independent, unconstrained guidance on how best to achieve them. Our clients want cohesive, collaborative planning from all their respective professionals.
We understand our clients have limited time, so we are proactive and reach out to work with our clients’ external tax and legal professionals.
We do insurance differently. We don’t look for ways to sell product – we find opportunities to improve client outcomes. We don’t have targets and revenue expectations. We genuinely believe that clients deserve to be treated with respect. We work as a team to find the best opportunities for clients to save money, reduce taxes and enhance their overall lifestyle – now and in the future.
We provide peace of mind. For clients, it’s knowing that they are protected. For advisors, it’s knowing that the proper solution was recommended. It is of the utmost importance to us that clients not only understand what they have, but why they have it.
We operate independently with no ties to specific products or sales targets. We strive to understand what is important to our clients and find ways to protect and enhance not only their current lifestyle, but that of future generations.
While generally a cause for celebration, retirement often comes with its fair share of financial anxiety. Research indicates that many people fear outliving their savings, resulting in an inability to enjoy life to the fullest throughout retirement.
When withdrawing from an RESP, there are a variety of considerations to keep in mind, such as is this the first time the beneficiary is attending post-secondary education, are they attending full or part-time, and what makes the most sense – withdrawing EAP and/or PSE.
A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a Canadian registered investment account that promotes saving to support a beneficiary’s post-secondary education. Anyone — parents, family and friends — can open a RESP as a “subscriber” for the benefit of a child. Invested contributions grow tax free.